The Brownhelm Township Board of Trsutess met for a regular meeting on Monday, March 6. The following is from the unapproved minutes of that meeting.
In correspondence, Marsha Funk, Fiscal Officer, noted that the Engineer sent the ODOT road mileage for approval, the Lorain County Emergency Management Technical Rescue Contract has been received and needs approval, and notice of a SWAC meeting on 3/29/17 at 6 pm at New Russia Township.
Zoning inspector update: John Schmalz, Zoning Inspector, submitted 3 permits; 2 houses and 1 shed. He spoke with a Rice Rd resident about a sign indicating the person was running a landscaping business; the sign has since been removed. He stated he will talk with the MetroPark Board about permits for the new bathrooms at the soccer fields west of Mill Hollow.
Resident complaint: There were complaints to the trustees about Zero 9 Holsters shooting bothering businesses to the north side of the tracks off of Baumhart. Since the ZBA did not put any restrictions on the shooting times, the township has little if any recourse.
Brownhelm Historical Association: Marilyn Brill announced the upcoming Chili Cookoff scheduled for Saturday, March 18. The BHA wanted to know if the trustees were interested in replacing their existing sign in the front of the school. The trustees replied that they did not feel the sign needed replacement at this time. The BHA also asked if the trustees would participate in a bicentennial picnic sometime in the summer. The trustees were supportive of the picnic, but requested a date as soon as possible.
Sheriff’s department update: Deputy Vansant made sure that the township was receiving the sheriff’s incident reports. He also reported the Sheriff’s Citizens Academy was coming up and that applications are due by Monday, April 3. Anyone interested can find more information on the sheriff’s website. Lastly, Deputy Vansant reported that this was his final meeting as a community policing officer because he was being transferred to the Detective Bureau; township’s new officer will be Deputy Rodriguez.
Zoning violations: Trustee Leimbach spoke with the prosecutor’s office about the resident on Baumhart Rd that is selling various items; this just needs to be monitored at this time as there are no definitive parameters between business and personal sales. Another Baumhart Rd resident appears to be scraping trailers for a business; J Schmalz will speak with this resident.
Leimbach made three motions concerning zoning violations, which were all voted on and approved. The first was authorizing J Schmalz to request the prosecutor to take the next step against Lorain County Auto LLC for not obtaining the proper sign permits and to bring them into compliance with township zoning.
The second was authorizing J Schmalz, Zoning Inspector, to request the prosecutor to take action against the Tassone’s on Greystone Dr for the unpermitted detached structure. The third was authorizing J Schmalz, Zoning Inspector, to request the prosecutor to take action against the Diaz’s of Middle Ridge Rd for the unpermitted detached structure.
Roads: Leimbach made a motion that Brownhelm Township enter into a joint project with Florence Township on Dean Road, not to exceed $6,000 as the Township’s share per an estimate from the Lorain County Engineer. This motion was voted on and approved by the board.
Trustee Northeim brought up the possible crack sealing for Rice Rd with the Engineer’s office, but stated that for an additional $1500, the whole road could be chip & sealed. Leimbach made a motion to add Rice Rd to the 2017 Lorain County Chip and Seal program through the Lorain County Engineer’s office. The motion was accepted, and Rice Road will be added to the program.
Leimbach made another motion, subject to the City of Vermilion’s approval, to add Cooper Foster Park Rd from Baumhart Rd to Claus Rd to the 2017 Lorain County Chip and Seal program through the Lorain County Engineer’s office, which was also approved.
Pay increases: Leimbach made a motion to increase the Labor Superintendent’s hourly wage by 3%, to $24.51 effective at the beginning of the next pay period, which was approved. He then made a second motion, which was also approved to increase the Laborer pay rates by 3% with Level 1 at $14.42, Level 2 at $16.22, and Level 3 at $17.76.
Northeim made a motion to increase the Zoning Inspector’s monthly salary from $450 to $500, effective Saturday, April 1, which was voted on and approved.
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